


Chasing Blue

by Celestia Trackster (Saberius_Prime), DisneyGirl1901



Category: Cars (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-11-30 09:38:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11460906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saberius_Prime/pseuds/Celestia%20Trackster, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisneyGirl1901/pseuds/DisneyGirl1901
Summary: Celestia is an ordinary car with a big heart. When she runs away after a fight with her mother and stumbles upon the small town of Radiator Springs, she finds a family she didn't know she had. And more importantly, her father.





	1. A Drive

**Author's Note:**

> No, I'm not dead! And I have another fic going with my wonderful cowriter, Saber! Go take a look at his stories! On with the show!
> 
> Disclaimer: If we owned anything, this would be in a movie and not here. Unfortunately, Disney is very adamant about keeping the Cars universe from us. :(

July, 2003

Millroad, Arizona

Turning. That's all her life seemed to do anymore. Turn. One after the other. Moving from place to place, never staying in one spot for too long. Such was the norm for Celestia Trackster. After all, what was one supposed to do with a workaholic mom and an unknown dad? And it didn't help that her mom had explicitly forbidden her from racing, even though they seemed to be racing all the time with the constant moving.

Celestia loved the thrill of speed. Something about racing made her oil burn in excitement and her powerful engine roar. She was a mixed breed of car. Her mother was a Dark Green 1976 Lancia Stratos, but poor Celestia didn't look anything like her.

She still looked like a Lancia Stratos, but was more sleek in shape, almost as if she was made in the 1950's, her dark bluish green paint blending well with her bright blue eyes that she got from her mother. Instead of her engine in the back like her mom, it was in the front. Her mother said she got it from her father, but she never told her what kind of make and model he was, nor his name.

Even though her mother specifically forbidden her from racing, that didn't stop her from doing it. She had been street racing ever since she turned 16 in January just before their latest move, a somewhat large city called Millroad, Arizona. She didn't win first place, but she did manage to win third or second if she was lucky. She looked at herself in the mirror in the new house, which she lived in with her mother. Her mother had gone to work like she always did at night. Celestia let off a deep sigh.

"Alright. Showtime."

Turning off lights to the house, she drove outside, locking the door behind her and headed to the outskirts of town. It was hard work avoiding the neighbors, who seemed to have been hired to watch her every move. But, she was soon out of her neighborhood and moving down back alleys and sidestreets. Just outside of town, five cars sat on the edge of the road, waiting for Celestia.

"Where is she?" grumbled one of the cars.

"Ah, just relax, Wingo," replied a blue Redo-Do with two wings on his roof. In the back he had woofers and subwoofers along with a CD player to play some tunes.

Just then the sound of a powerful V6 engine roared into hearing range as Celestia zoomed into view.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late. Had to ditch the parent."

Boost, a greyish purple Kyoku and the leader of the Tuners, rolled over to her.

"Good to see you again. What is this? Your twelfth move to another city?"

"Feels like it," Celestia muttered.

"Well, it's good that you're back with us. Heck, maybe you'll even beat me this time. Something I highly doubt. I got me some upgrades."

He turned to show off his new boost tanks for his nitrous. Celestia rolled her eyes.

"You can talk the talk, but that doesn't mean you can drive."

"Oh, we'll see about that," replied Boost. "Natalie, get ready to wave the green flag, babe."

A red sports car rolled in front of Boost, giving him a quick smooch on his fender.

"You got it, babe."

As Boost rolled to the starting line, Natalie made her over to Celestia.

"You got about a 0.2 percent chance of winning. There's no way you'll beat my boy toy."

"Numbers aren't everything, Nat. Just watch."

Natalie drove off to the main pack. It consisted of Snot Rod, an orange and black racing striped 1970 Roadburner, Wingo, whose giant green fin would squash him as flat as a piece of paper if it was any taller, DJ, and Boost. DJ was parked next to Boost, leaving one open space for Celestia next to him. Celestia drove up beside Boost.

"Hey, control your girl, would ya? She started spouting numbers at me again."

Boost shifted his front tires, as if to say it wasn't his problem.

"Hey, it's just how she is. Besides whatever she told you, she's right. Numbers don't lie."

Celestia grit her teeth and focused on the road, leaning forward on her suspension and rubbing her front tires against the asphalt in anticipation.

"They do today."

Time seemed to slow as Natalie waved her green handkerchief, dropping it to the ground. Celestia pushed her engine as hard as she could, putting the pedal to the metal. It wasn't long before Boost, Wingo, DJ, and Snot Rod passed her, but she still kept her speed. She knew they would run out of nitrous sooner or later.

DJ was the first to slow, since some of his systems were being diverted to playing his music. Next was Wingo, whose ridiculous tail fin was causing some serious drag. Celestia grinned as she passed them both. Snot Rod was a little more tricky with his sneezing, but she eventually shot ahead.

_Three down, one to go._

She boosted once with her nitrous to catch up with Boost, getting into his slipstream to draft behind him. Up ahead, she could see the county line, which was the finish line. She shifted her tires and moved to the side, slowly accelerating past Boost. Boost tried to get past her, but his nitrous tanks were practically empty.

Which left Celestia to speed over the county line, victorious.

But what the two didn't realize was there was a police officer parked on the county line, keeping an eye out for Celestia and the rest of the Tuners. Suddenly the sound of a siren filled the air and red and blue lights flashed. Boost growled.

"Cops! I hate cops!"

"I think that's one thing we can both agree on, Boost!" Celestia snapped back.

Boost frowned.

"Sorry about this, Celestia. Call me when you get out of prison!"

Boost slammed into her side, forcing her into a spin. Celestia screamed as she spun and slammed her side into a tree. Things were dizzy for a moment as the officer came up to her.

"Girl, you're in a heap of trouble."

Celestia's eyes rolled back as she passed out.

* * *

 It wasn't until a couple days later when she awoke to the steady sound of an engine monitor. She tried to move, but found her tire was stuck. Glancing down she saw there was a parking boot on her. Glancing towards a mirror she noticed her modifications had been torn off. No boost tanks, no spoiler, no nothing.

"Where...is...my...stuff?" she growled.

"Gone," said a voice that was all too familiar to Celestia. A quick glance confirmed that it was her mother, Sylvia.

"Where did you put it? That was mine! I paid for all of it!"

"Like I said," replied Sylvia, "Gone. It's in the trash. Where it belongs. You could have died, Celestia! Do you have any idea what I had to do to bail you out? I had to use all of our savings! That was supposed to pay our rent and bills, Celestia! We may have to move again now!"

"'Where it belongs'?! Are you joking? Do you have _any_ idea how long it took to save all that money to get those upgrades? Forget about bailing me out! Mom, I _won_! I came in first!"

"It doesn't matter, Celestia! You broke the law! I forbid you from ever racing again! And if I ever see another modification to your body that's not a normal paint job, I will send you off straight to jail because I can't do this anymore!"

Sylvia began to calm down.

"Now...the officer is going to remove your boot and you cannot speed out of here. You're still healing and there is a tracker on how fast you're going. If you go above the posted speed limit, you will be found and arrested."

The officer began to remove her boot. When he did so, Celestia glared at her mother and shook it off, rolling out of the hospital room, revving her engine loudly. Soon the two were home and Celestia went to her room, not wanting to speak to her mom. She glanced out her bedroom window and saw cars on the interstate going at high speeds.

Glancing into the hallway, she saw her mother was on the phone. Grabbing only essential supplies and money, she drove out the front door and headed towards the seedier parts of town, hopefully to remove her tracker and get some of her mods back. Sylvia didn't even notice.

She stopped by a small clinic that didn't ask many questions and quickly got the tracker removed. It hurt a bit, but she felt a lot better when it was finally out. From there, she headed to a body shop where she got nitros boosters and a simple spoiler. She even found a little bit of extra money to get a few flames painted on her.

As she rolled out of the body shop, she glanced at herself in a nearby mirror. Her paint was now a deep shade of royal blue. Her spoiler and boost tanks were cheap, but they would do until she came into some money. The added bluish green flames also highlighted her paint and would draw some looks to her, but she didn't care. She looked halfway decent and that's all that mattered.

She was soon out of the city and on the interstate. At first, she kept it a little on the slow side, remembering that she was still healing. But, after a few other cars jeered at her, she picked up the pace. She laughed as she sped down the interstate, the wind flying over her hood and roof. This...this was freedom.

* * *

 Celestia had only been driving for a couple of hours when a warning light flashed on her panel. She groaned.

"They couldn't have filled my tank up just a little bit? Stupid hospital staff..." she grumbled. She glanced ahead and saw an exit.

"Maybe if I get off here, I can find a gas station close by. I wish I stopped back at that rest stop. Seriously who calls a place Top Down Truck Stop? And I'm talking to myself..."

Celestia pulled off of the interstate and took a right, heading north into the unknown. It was a very dreary road, not even lit. She saw train tracks up ahead and carefully crossed them before reaching a T intersection. Looking both ways, she sighed.

"Well, nothing in sight. Better head back and try to make it to the next gas station."

She whirled around and drove off, not realizing she had gone the wrong way. She didn't even notice a sign that said "Route 66." Celestia sped along the dark road when suddenly her engine began to sputter.

"No, no, no! Not now!"

Celestia tried to speed up, but her engine wouldn't provide the power she needed and it quit. She panted and gently braked, stopping next to an old billboard. Only one light for it was on and the billboard read: "Radiator Springs: Gateway to Ornament Valley".

"Radiator Springs?" Celestia said quietly.

A deep snore from behind the billboard made her yelp in fright. Whoever...or whatever it is was obviously heard her yelp because a yawn emanated it, followed by the smacking of lips.

"Who..who goes there?"

Celestia stayed quiet, unsure of who was there. Soon, a black and white 1949 Mercury Eight Police Cruiser appeared from behind the sign.

"Hmph. A crazy hot-rodder. What are you doing here? You woke me up."

Celestia noticed what he was and carefully chose her words.

"I...ran out of gas while I was trying to find a service station. Somehow I ended up here."

"Hmph. I'll get Mater. Wait here."

The car turned on his lights and turned right, heading down the dark road and leaving Celestia by herself. About thirty minutes passed before two sets of headlights were seen coming towards Celestia. The police cruiser pulled up alongside Celestia, while a rusty tow truck with one headlight and no hood pulled up in front of her.

"Well, howdy! My name's Mater! You know, like Tuh-Mater? But without the Tuh! What's your name?"

"Celestia," she replied, smiling a bit. "I assume you're gonna take me to the gas station?"

"Sure am! You also get to see the cutest little town in Carburetor County."

Mater went behind her and hooked his tow cable underneath her, trying his best to be gentle.

"You ready, Miss Celestia?"

Celestia had jumped a little bit when Mater hooked onto her, but she nodded.

"Yep. I'm ready."

Soon, the three cars were on their way. As they drove along, Celestia could see lights up ahead of the small town in her rearview mirrors.

"Is that Radiator Springs?"

"You bet," said the police cruiser.

"Hey, Sheriff? After she fills up, can I show Miss Celestia 'round?"

"If she agrees. And if she adheres to the speed limit."

Celestia let off a silent groan. She wanted to go fast.

Suddenly, Mater pulled into a small lot and parked Celestia next to a gas pump. Celestia's eyes went wide with curiosity. Across the street sat a ramshackle building called Radiator Springs Curios. On the front porch sat an old Model T Ford, snoozing away. Next door to that was a tire shop called Luigi's Casa Della Tires. A yellow 1959 Fiat 500 and a blue Alza Tutto forklift were making sure some tires on display looked good. Across from that was a body shop called Ramone's House of Body Art. A 1959 purple Chevrolet Impala low-rider with orange flames on his sides entered the station, admiring Celestia's paint job.

"Mmh...that paintwork is nice, man. I could have done it better. I'm Ramone. My wife Flo owns the cafe here.

"Thanks," Celestia said. "Your paint's nice too."

The Impala smiled and saw his wife.

"Flo! You got a customer, darlin'!"

A light green and white 1957 GM Motorama show car pulled into the station.

"Well, hey, there! I'm Flo! Welcome to Flo's V-8 Cafe! The finest fuel on Route 66!"

"Hi. And a good thing. I'm...out."

"Well we'll fix that right away, sugar!"

Flo hit a lever on the other side of Celestia's pump with her tire and the nozzle dropped right into the hatch for Celestia's fuel tank, the pump clicking away as gas filled Celestia's tank. Then she moved back in front of Celestia.

"Now can I get you somethin' to eat? You look a bit hungry."

But before Celestia could say what she wanted, a 2002 baby blue Porsche 911 seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"A customer? Finally! But the Cozy Cone isn't ready! Oh!"

The Porsche drove off to a hotel across the street.

"Who was that?" asked Celestia.

"That," said Mater helpfully, "was Miss Sally. She's the town attorney and my fiancee."

Celestia's eyes went wide until Mater laughed.

"Nah, just kiddn'. She just likes me for ma body. She also runs the Cozy Cone. You might be able to stay there, if you'd like."

Celestia pondered it, but shook her hood.

"The offer is welcomed, but I'm afraid I have to get back on the road again."

Sheriff pulled into the station.

"Uh, uh. Not until Doc checks you over. You look like you need to rest too. How long have been driving for?"

"Um... A couple of hours?" Celestia said, shrugging sheepishly at the end. That probably wasn't the _best_ idea after waking up in the hospital not too long before she headed out...

"Well, I'll get Doc," replied Sheriff. "Fillmore and Sarge should be along anytime now. You can talk to them while you wait."

"Alright," Celestia agreed, just happy to have a full tank again.

Soon enough, an Army Jeep and a Volkswagen Bus pulled in. The bus was covered in all sorts of sayings and images from the 1960s. The bus noticed Celestia first.

"Whoa, man...a customer. Hasn't been one here in a long time. You really need to try some of my homemade organic fuel, man..."

"Not that freak juice," muttered the Jeep.

Celestia looked both curious and confused.

"Um...Hi?"

The Jeep smiled.

"Greetings, Soldier. Welcome to Radiator Springs. Be sure to stop by Sarge's Surplus Hut for all of your Government surplus needs."

"Make peace, not war, man." replied Fillmore.

"Tree hugger," mumbled Sarge.

Celestia chuckled at the banter.

"Nice to meet you two."

A voice spoke up from behind Celestia, this one super deep and had some hidden wisdom behind it.

"So...Sheriff tells me we got a race car in town...let me guess...that's you."

Celestia froze.

"Y-Yeah."

She slowly started to turn around to see who was behind her. She was shocked to see a 1951 Dark Royal Blue Hudson Hornet. His chrome was dull and he had a tired look in his eyes, but those eyes widened when he saw her eye color.

Doc's engine raced.

" _It can't be...no...it's not her."_

He gently cleared his engine before speaking.

"The name's Hudson. Hudson Hornet. I know, real original. Everyone here just calls me Doc."

" _Why am I telling her this? She probably just has one of those faces."_

As Doc thought, Celestia gently coughed to get his attention.

"I'm Celestia. Celestia Trackster. Nice to meet ya, Doc."

Doc's engine almost stalled.

" _No...can it be? Of course not...there's probably another family called Trackster."_

"It...It's nice to meet you too. Well...best get you checked up."

Doc turned around and drove over to a small building next to Flo's. Celestia followed.

"So...anything you need to know about me medically?"

"Just your make, model and any medical problems."

He pushed open the front door and drove in, revealing a small doctor's office. On the walls were different tools and equipment. In one corner there was a small area where Doc slept and in the other was a lift so Doc could work on someone's axles or transmission.

"Alright. Onto the lift you get."

Celestia obeyed, settling herself as comfortably as she could.

"Right." Doc went over to a small computer and pulled up a new medical file, putting in Celestia's name.

"Alright. Birth month, date, and year?"

"January 23rd, 1987."

Doc paused for a minute, but continued on.

"Alright. Make and model?"

"1976 Lancia Stratos hybrid."

Doc paused again.

"You're a hybrid? Of what?"

Celestia shrugged.

"My mom never told me."

Doc hummed to himself.

"Alright. Well, that's everything I need for personal info wise. Any medical issues?"

"Nothing life threatening."

Doc nodded and entered the file.

"Alright. Pop your hood."

Celestia did so. She never liked medical exams, especially for this reason. Doc was surprised.

"You have an engine in front? Most Lancia's have engines in back."

"I've had a front engine my whole life. Don't ask me why," Celestia sighed.

Doc nodded and began his examination.

"Well, I think I see a slight problem to why you ran out of fuel. You have a small leak in your fuel line to your engine. That can be easily fixed, but I'm gonna have to raise the lift to get at the line."

Doc pressed a button nearby and the lift raised Celestia into the air. Soon, Doc had fixed the line and lowered Celestia down.

"I have one more thing to do before I let you go. You have to have a sample of your oil taken. It's standard practice now."

He grabbed a small needle and syringe from the wall with his tire and attached it to his wheel.

"Okay, here we go. You'll feel a small pinch and...done!"

Doc pulled the needle out and applied a bandage to Celestia's oil line. He put the sample into a nearby refrigerator and sighed.

"Alright. You're cleared to go. Take it easy. I found some damage to your sides. I'm surprised you drove as far as you did without breaking something. I do recommend you stay in town for two weeks however."

Celestia muttered something that he couldn't hear before she registered what he said.

"Two WEEKS!? I can't. I have very important things to do on the West Coast."

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but Doctor's orders. Plus your tires won't get you far. Those are hospital issued tires. They only last about two hundred miles or so before they burst. You need to get them replaced soon."

Celestia nodded, quietly mad that he noticed.

"I'll do that in the morning. I'll stay the night and be out of you guys' town by noon tomorrow."

"I still recommend you stay the two weeks. I'll have Sheriff lock you up in the impound otherwise."

It didn't take long for Celestia to make her decision.

"Alright. I'll stay."

Doc nodded.

"Good. You don't have to pay me for the repairs. You being a customer is enough for me."

Doc turned and got on his computer, typing away.

Celestia gave him a small smile.

"Thanks."

With that, she headed out. Doc glanced over to the door before picking up his phone and making a call. A voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Donnie, it's Doc."

"Doc...do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yeah, I know, but listen. I'm sending you two oil samples to test."

"You know it will take two weeks for it to get here and get the test results back?"

"Yeah...that's what I'm counting on."

"Fine...what are we testing?"

Doc let off a sigh, and told Donnie what was happening.

* * *

 Meanwhile, Sally had managed to get Cone #2 halfway decent when Celestia rolled by.

"Oh! Miss! Miss!"

Celestia stopped before coming over to the Porsche.

"Yes?"

"I have Cone #2 fixed up and ready to go if you wish to spend the night. It's newly refurbished. I'm still working on the rest of them," Sally replied, laughing nervously.

"It's alright!" Celestia reassured. "I'll be spending the night. Well, it was either your place or the impound lot and I'd rather not stay there. No offence."

Sally chuckled.

"None taken. I wouldn't want to sleep there either. It's only for criminals anyways. Let me guess...Doc threatened to throw you in there?"

"How could you _ever_ guess?" Celestia asked sarcastically.

Sally smiled softly.

"Cause I was just like you. I was an attorney in L.A. Livin' life in the fast lane...but...I never felt...happy. So I left L.A. and just drove and drove. Until I ended up breaking down up at Wheel Well Motel up in Tailfin Pass."

She gestured to the mountain range behind the courthouse down the street with her tire.

"Doc fixed me up, Flo took me in...well...they all did. And I never left. Of course I wanted to go back and Doc threatened me with the very same threat. But then I tried to leave and went back the way I came. I'll never forget that moment. The sun was setting, I slowed to a stop by Wheel Well, and...well...I fell in love."

Celestia chuckled a bit at the story before giving Sally a sly grin.

"Who's the lucky guy?"

Sally rolled her eyes.

"It's not a guy. I'll take you up to Wheel Well tomorrow. You'll see. Night."

Sally went over to the main office building and shut off the lights. Celestia glanced around to see everyone else heading home to their respective shops and shutting their lights off. She sighed and headed into Cone #2. At least, if she never heard of this place before now, her mom wouldn't have either. She sighed once more and pressed a button in her cone, the door shutting and the lights turning off. Celestia yawned and went to sleep, not caring what tomorrow would bring.


	2. Just Another Day in Radiator Springs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the next chapter! On with the show!
> 
> Disclaimer: We don't own the Cars Universe. We just own Celestia Trackster.

The first rays of sunlight began to peak over the edge of the horizon, shining down onto to the small town of Radiator Springs. Not much had changed in the small town since 1966 when Interstate 40 was built, bypassing the town. That was...until yesterday. Celestia slept soundly in her cone, but was woken up to a bugle playing followed by Jimi Hendrix's version of the Star Spangled Banner.

A voice cried out.

"Will you turn that disrespectful junk off?!"

Another voice spoke up.

"Respect the classics, man! It's Hendrix!"

Celestia groaned and opened the door to find Sally waiting patiently.

"Good you're awake! Sorry about Sarge and Fillmore. I should have warned you. They do this every morning. Come on. You can get breakfast at Flo's. We do serve a Lincoln Continental breakfast, but the kitchen is incompleted so it's unavailable."

Celestia nodded slowly.

"Okay...so when are we going up to...Wheel Well, was it?"

Sally smiled.

"We can go after lunch if you want. See you later. By the way, Sheriff wants to talk to you."

Sally then drove off, heading for the office. Celestia drove out of her cone and across the street to Flo's, yawning slightly.

At Flo's, her tank was filled up and she had some of the most delicious morning oil she had ever tasted. She watched as Sheriff came in. He nodded to Sarge and Fillmore.

"Gentlemen..."

"Mornin' Sheriff," replied Sarge.

Fillmore sighed softly.

"Hey, Sheriff."

Sheriff turned to Celestia.

"Now, Miss Delinquent Road Hazard, I don't want you speeding around my town."

"It's Celestia..."

Sheriff grumbled, not wanting to say her name, but forced it out.

"I'm sorry. Celestia. I don't want you speeding around my town. There is a track for that."

Celesta perked up at this.

"A track? Where?"

"It's called Willy's Butte. The town used to have races out there. But not so much anymore. I'll show you after my morning cup of oil," replied Sheriff.

Flo smiled as she brought over his cup.

"There you go, Sheriff."

Then, a black Model T Ford entered the station, her wheels wobbling.

"Oh, hello...you...you look familiar...do I know you?"

Celestia shook her hood.

"No, I'm afraid not. I've never been here before. I'm Celestia. What's your name?"

"Lizzie...now...where did Stanley go?"

She drove off. Celestia was confused.

"Who's Stanley?"

"He was the founder of our town," replied Ramone as he rolled in. "He was Lizzie's husband. He passed away a long time ago. Lizzie was never the same after that."

Just then, a red fire truck entered the station, watering some nearby plants for Flo. Celestia watched the fire truck curiously.

"Who's that? I didn't see him last night."

"That's Red!" said Mater as he trundled into the station. "He don't talk much, but he keeps our flowers watered! Mornin' Miss Celestia."

"Good morning, Mater," Celestia replied.

Just then, the yellow Fiat and the blue forklift from the night before made they're way over. The yellow Fiat looked at Celestia questioningly.

"Yousa needa tires? Doc said yousa needa them?"

The blue forklift smiled ecstatically.

"Peet stop!"

Celestia chuckled. "Yep. Need some fresh ones."

Luigi all but dragged Celestia into his shop, putting her onto the lift. Glancing around, Celestia could see a lot of Ferrari posters.

"Huh. You guys fans of racing?"

Luigi nodded viciously.

"I hava followed racing my entire life! But only the Ferraris... Now...what kinda tires are yousa lookin' for?"

"Something good for racing, but not too flashy."

"I hava just the thing!"

Luigi pulled back a curtain to reveal four racing tires.

"Thesa built for the road and for dirt! I hava never been able to sella them off..."

Celestia grinned at the sight. Real racing tires!

"I'll take 'em!"

Luigi smiled.

"Perfecto! Guido!"

The forklift grabbed a air wrench, and held it with his fork.

"Peet stop!"

Guido went to Celestia's wheel and began to unbolt her tires, moving at a faster speed than Celestia had ever seen before. She tried to watch the speedy little forklift, but he was finished before she could give up.

"Woah. That was...quick..."

"Guido isa the best in my opinion," replied Luigi.

Guido said something in Italian. Luigi smiled.

"She is!"

Celestia was confused.

"What am I?"

Luigi smiled.

"Guido says you looka like an angel!"

Celestia's front fenders went red from embarrassment.

"Oh..um...thank you, Guido."

" _Prego_ ," the forklift replied.

Once the lift was lowered again, she drove off and inspected her tires in the mirror. She almost couldn't believe that she'd gotten a hold of actual racing tires! Thank goodness her mother wasn't there to see her.

Luigi smiled.

"Thosa tires are free of charge. I hava no use fora them."

Celestia smiled.

"Thank you once again...Luigi, right?"

" _Si_. Come again, _Signora_."

Celestia drove outside to find Sheriff waiting for her.

"You ready?"

"Yes, sir. I am."

Sheriff let off a sigh and led Celestia out towards the north end of town, taking her along an old desert road. Up ahead Celestia could see a butte in the distance, it's shape almost like a Pontiac's hood ornament.

"That's Willy's Butte?" she asked.

"Yes," replied Sheriff. "Do you always ask this many questions?"

"I do when I'm in a strange town," Celestia fired back.

Sheriff let off another groan before pulling to a stop. Next to him was an old dirt trail. A pair of old tires with a rope attached to them sat across the path.

"You go through here, up that wall and back 'round again. Try not to hurt yourself on this."

Sheriff pulled away, parking himself up on a ledge.

"Well, go on! Race away!"

Celestia grinned and pulled up to the rope. She stayed for a moment, revving her engine, before taking off. The first straight bit was easy, but the curve around the wall gave her a little trouble. She stayed on, though, and sped down the other straightaway. Coming up to the other turn, she smirked. She sharply turned to the left and drifted a bit...but she turned a bit _too_ hard and she ended up spinning! Luckily, she was able to come to a stop right at a cliff.

As she caught her breath, a voice spoke up.

"This ain't asphalt, girl. This is dirt."

Celestia shook a bit and looked over to the voice. Sure enough, it was Doc.

"So I figured."

"You're built for rally racing. Not much difference between that and dirt track racing. Almost always the same terrain. You're givin' it too much throttle and you're spinning out because of it."

"Too much throttle. ...and how do you know about this again?"

"I'll put it simple. If you're goin' hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right."

Doc drove away, leaving Celestia confused. She went back onto the track again, gunning her engine and racing around the butte once more. As she neared the final turn, she slowed her speed slightly, turning her wheels to the left and gently hit her brakes. Her rear tires lost traction and Celestia shifted her wheels right, sliding through the curve. Everything seemed to slow down as Celestia slid through the turn. Next thing she knew she had crossed the finish line and she slammed on her brakes, coming to a stop sharply.

"I did it...I did it! Yes! Yo, Doc, I di..."

But as she looked around for Doc he was nowhere to be found.

"Oookay..."

* * *

After a couple more laps, Celestia's tank growled. She was getting hungry. She sighed and headed back into town.

Meanwhile, Sally was getting fueled up for the trip to Wheel Well. She smiled when Celestia pulled into Flo's.

"Celestia! You ready to go?"

"Yeah. Just let me get a quick something."

Flo gave Celestia a can of oil and pushed the button for the fuel pump, the nozzle landing in the hatch for Celestia's tank. Soon, she was ready to go and Sally led her out towards the courthouse. Sally smiled as they passed Red.

"Afternoon, Red. This is Celestia. She'll be staying with us for two weeks."

Red smiled at Celestia and then went back to watering flowers. Soon, the two cars neared the western edge of town. Sally revved her engine. Celestia grinned.

"Nice engine. I'll let you lead, considering that I have no idea where this is."

Sally smiled.

"Well...if you say so..."

Suddenly, Sally took off at high speed.

"Catch me if you can!" she called back.

Celestia gasped before heading after Sally. Suddenly, her vision focused and all she could see was Sally in front of her. She smirked and sped up. The turns came easily, miles melting away behind her. Within a few minutes, she had overtaken the light blue car. As the two cars raced further west, the desert gave way to a beautiful forest with redwood trees, standing tall and casting shadows on the road. The road turned and bent, climbing higher and higher into the mountains. A cool breeze snapped Celestia's focus away from the race and she gasped.

Slowing down slightly, she looked around in amazement as she drove through a small rock formation and then through a tunnel. What she saw next made her mouth drop in shock. A beautiful pristine waterfall was pouring down gallons and gallons of water. A stone bridge spanned the ravine that the water was pouring down into. Suddenly, a blue blur shot by her, making her snap out of her daze.

"You snooze, you lose!" called Sally.

"Hey! No fair!" Celestia said, racing after Sally.

After racing through a couple more turns, the two finally stopped outside a small motel. It was old and abandoned. The front was shaped like an old wooden wheel off an old Model T and it said Wheel Well Motel near the top of the wheel.

"This is the Wheel Well?" asked Celestia.

Sally nodded.

"Yep. It used to be the most popular stop on the Mother Road."

Celestia glanced around, looking at the old gas pumps. An assortment of old rusty can sat nearby, little bugs swirling around them.

"This place?"

"Yeah," Sally replied. "Imagine. Imagine what it must have been like to stay here."

Celestia glanced over towards Sally.

"So...you fell in love here? Fell in love with who?"

Sally rolled her eyes, driving over to a small cliff.

"I fell in love with this..."

Celestia looked over the edge, gasping in awe. She could see nothing but miles and miles of open desert. The town and Willy's Butte could be seen down below, but the view was absolutely amazing.

"Wow...look at that! All those cars!"

She gestured to the interstate with her tire.

"Look at them! They're driving right by and they don't even know what they're missing!"

Sally sighed sadly.

"Well, it didn't used to be that way."

Celestia glanced over, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Yeah?"

Sally nodded.

"Yeah. Thirty-seven years ago, that Interstate down there didn't exist."

Celestia just nodded.

"Back then, cars came across the country a whole different way."

Celestia was puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the road didn't cut through the land like that Interstate. It moved with the land you know? It rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn't drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time."

Celestia was deep into the story of the town now. It seemed so interesting that at one time the interstate system didn't exist. All she had ever known was the Interstate. It had become such a staple of her life with all the moving she did growing up.

"What happened?"

"The town got bypassed just to save ten minutes of driving," replied Sally. "Eventually, the travelers took the Interstate all the time and forgot about the town. It was erased from pretty much every map. We're still here, but...a lot of the smaller towns on the Mother Road weren't so lucky. Everyone packed up and moved on, leaving their towns to be reclaimed by nature. That's why there's no stores open past Luigi's and Ramone's. Everyone's moved on. But someday we'll get this place back on the map."

Celestia nodded.

"Thanks, Sally. It's beautiful here...I think...I think I might stay longer than two weeks."

Sally smiled.

"You're welcome. We better get back to town if we want to make it in time for supper. We can take it slow to take in the scenery if you want?"

"Sounds good to me," replied Celestia.

And the two headed back to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the second chapter! We hope you enjoyed. Also, if Luigi's accent is horrible...blame Saber. :P  
> Also for the non-Italian speakers, here's the English translations for Luigi and Guido.  
> Prego: You're welcome.  
> Signora: Lady.  
> Si: Yes.


	3. The Truth Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets are brought to light as an old friend returns to town...

Two weeks had come and gone and Celestia had grown to like the small town. Flo even offered Celestia a job working at her cafe and paid what little she could for her services. With Sheriff's permission, she was allowed to upgrade her boosters and spoiler with the condition that she didn't use her boosters on the main road. She was, however, allowed to use them at Willy's Butte and in Tailfin Pass.

 

As morning came, Celestia awoke to the normal alarm clock, locally known as Sarge and Fillmore's daily music argument.

"Will you turn that disrespectful junk off?!"

"Let it go, man!"

Celestia chuckled, stretched, and rolled out of Cone #2 to head down to Flo's for breakfast. Flo was working away, turning all the pumps on and make sure everything was ready.

"Mornin' Celestia! How ya sleep?"

"Slept good, Flo," she smiled.

Just then, Luigi pulled in.

"Ah, good morning Missa Celestia. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well, Luigi. How're you and Guido?"

"Guido and I are perfecto," replied the yellow Fiat. "We have decided to repaint the store. It needa new coat."

Celestia grinned.

"Neat!"

****

Just then, Doc pulled in and grabbed a can of oil, dropping the money off next to it before heading back to the clinic. Ramone, Sheriff, Fillmore, and Sarge glanced at him curiously as they entered the station.

Ramone raised his windscreen.

"Has...anyone noticed that Doc has been a bit distant lately?"

"He certainly hasn't been like himself," Sarge remarked.

Guido entered the station and said something in Italian. Luigi nodded.

"Quite right, Guido. Guido thinks that something musta be on his mind."

"What do you think is going on?" Celestia asked.

No one could answer her. Finally Sheriff spoke up.

"I'll go talk to him. Celestia, why don't you go out to Willy's Butte and race the track for a bit? Let us worry about Doc."

Celestia nodded and raced off after she finished breakfast.

 

Sheriff went over to the clinic and entered quietly.

"So...you still haven't told her?"

"How can I, Sheriff? She'll look at me differently...I scare her enough now, can you imagine how much I'll scare her if I tell the truth?"

Sheriff sighed.

"All I'm sayin', Doc, is that she's gonna find out either way. You're not exactly hiding the fact that you have this problem on your mind."

"What do you mean?" insinuated the Hornet. "I've been hiding it perfectly well."

Sheriff sighed.

"You better tell her soon, Doc. Or else you may lose her forever."

Sheriff exited the clinic, leaving Doc to his thoughts.

* * *

Meanwhile, Celestia was racing around Willy's Butte, carefully practicing her turns. Even though Sheriff told her not to worry about Doc, she still couldn't help but wonder what was going on. She'd come to like the doctor. When she stopped to take a break, she noticed Sally driving over.

"Hey, Celestia. You feel like going for a drive up to Wheel Well?"

Celestia shook her hood.

"I'm good, but thanks for offering...I've been doing a lot of thinking. I found an old magazine. A racing magazine. The Fabulous Hudson Hornet was on the cover. Not sure where it came from, but...I've been thinking about quitting street racing. And maybe going into the Piston Cup Series."

Sally's eyes went wide.

"The Piston Cup? That's pretty big, Celestia."

"Yep. Hey, if I'm gonna race, better not get arrested. Right?"

"True," Sally chuckled. "Well, I'd better get back to the Cozy Cone. See you later, Celestia."

Celestia smiled.

"Bye, Sally."

****

Sally headed back into town and Celestia went back to doing laps. But what she didn't realize was that Doc was watching her nearby. He watched as she zoomed around the track before reaching the turn. Doc's engine raced in worry. But that worry was soon replaced with astonishment as Celestia glided through the curve flawlessly and effortlessly. Doc's mouth nearly dropped in shock.

Celestia soon slid to a stop, panting breathlessly.

"That...that was amazing..."

Shaking her hood clear of dust and dirt, she headed back to town...straight towards Doc! Seeing she was coming that way, he quickly gunned his engine, racing away in a cloud of dust. As he neared town, he slowed down and headed into his clinic. But he didn't slow down enough. The wind he generated from his speeding blew his garage door open just enough for the wind to catch it. Another racing magazine blew out and smacked Celestia's windscreen as she pulled into town.

"Ah!" she screamed.

Flo quickly looked over.

"Celestia! What happened?"

"Magazine smacked me," Celestia said, shaking it loose as she pulled into the V8 Cafe. She looked over. "A racing magazine?"

****

From behind her, the rattling sound of Doc's garage door caught her attention. Quietly driving over, she went behind Doc's clinic and pushed the door shut with her tire. As she started driving away, she stopped suddenly, backing up and pushing the door open to find boxes of magazines, newspapers, and other articles.

She coughed at the collection of dust.

"Whoa...Doc...when was your last spring cleaning?"

But as she glanced to her right, something gold reflected some sunlight, catching her attention. Up on a shelf sat an old trophy. In carved out letters enunciated with black paint, the words Piston Cup stood out proudly. Celestia was confused.

"What? Since when did Doc have a Piston Cup?"

She looked at the trophy again to noticed something else. It read "Hudson Hornet, Champion, 1951." This made Celestia even more confused. Glancing to her right, she saw from behind a pile of boxes, two more Piston Cups were there. One said "Hudson Hornet, Champion, 1952," and the other said "Hudson Hornet, Champion, 1953." Three dirt racing tires sat behind them while the fourth was holding up the 1953 Piston Cup. A newspaper lying next to the tires read "Hudson Hornet: Champion for All Time."

"Three piston cups?" murmured Celestia.

 

"The sign says stay out."

Celestia spun around to find Doc, glaring at her.

"I-I...I was driving by and saw the door was open. I wanted to check and make sure nothing was broken."

Doc stayed quiet, still glaring. Celestia took a deep breath.

"And you're the Fabulous Hudson Hornet. ...aren't you?"

Doc growled.

"Get. Out."

Celestia looked cross.

"You can't tell me what to do! You are not my mother!"

As Celestia pulled out of the garage, passing Doc, the old Hornet sighed.

"No...I'm not...but I am your father."

****

Celestia braked hard, her mind screeching to a stop as well.

"M-My...my _dad_?"

Doc let off a sigh once more.

"Yes...I am the Fabulous Hudson Hornet...and I am your father."

Slowly, Celestia turned back around. She looked back at Doc with a mixture of surprise and worry. Surprise at the news and worry of what he thought of her. Doc opened his mouth to say something, but another voice beat him to it.

"Hud?"

****

Doc's engine froze.

"Sylvia?"

Celestia jumped, scared at the unexpected voice. She hadn't forgotten what her mom threatened about her racing. She carefully turned around, grinning awkwardly.

"Hi, Mom... What're you doin' here?"

"I've come to find you and bring you home. You're in a lot of trouble, young lady."

Doc put a tire out in front of Celestia.

"Explain. Now. Why did you leave me? Why didn't you tell me I had a daughter?!"

Doc revved his engine loudly in anger. He didn't care what the townsfolk would say. Hornets were known for the powerful engines. He could easily explain it if needed. He slowly moved forward, forcing Sylvia to back up.

Celestia nodded, agreeing with Doc.

"And why didn't you tell me my dad was the Hudson Hornet? _The_ Hudson Hornet, Mom! You _know_ how I studied him for that paper in school!"

"Because I didn't want you to end up like your uncle Will!" Sylvia shouted.

Celestia froze.

"Uncle Will?"

Sylvia began to calm down.

"Your uncle Will died in a race. I didn't...I...I didn't want to lose you like I lost him. Hud...I...I am so...so...sorry...I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Celestia."

****

The townsfolk slowly made their way over.

"Doc...is everything alright?" asked Flo. "Do you need...any...oh my gosh...Sylvia? Sylvia Trackster? Is that you?"

Sylvia nodded.

"It's me, Flo."

Flo smiled.

"Well, how have you been sugar? You know, Doc was pretty worried about you when you left...and...wait a minute...is Celestia your daughter?"

"Yep," Celestia replied, "And Doc's."

Everyone's jaws hit the road. Lizzie spoke up.

"I _told_ you she looked familiar! But did any of you listen? No!"

****

"Mom...do...do I have to go back? Am I in trouble with the law?" Celestia asked quietly.

"Aside from the fact that the police have been helping me look for you for the past two weeks, no, you're not in trouble with the law," Sylvia sighed. "As to going back..." She paused as she noticed her daughter's modifications. "Celestia! What did I say about the modifications?!"

Sheriff gently coughed.

"To be fair, I did give her permission to use them as long as she didn't use them in town. She can use them in Tailfin Pass and Willy's Butte, but not on the main road."

Sylvia paused.

"Has she been obeying that restriction?"

Sheriff nodded.

"Yep. Although when she first got here she was impeding traffic."

"I...uh...may have run out of gas," Celestia replied sheepishly.

"That's what you get for disappearing right after getting out of the hospital," Sylvia chastised, though she was a bit more gentle and there was a soft twinkle in her eye.

****

Doc gently coughed.

"Sylvia...I...uh...know this may seem kind of sudden...but...um...can Celestia stay here for a while longer? And maybe you too...I think we need to discuss a lot of things."

Sylvia took a deep breath before nodding.

"We thought we were going to have to move again when Celestia ran away, so I don't have anything pressing that I need to get back to."

Doc nodded, shifting his right tire towards the open road.

"Shall we take a drive then?"

"Sure," Sylvia replied, moving next to him.

"Should I come with?" Celestia asked, feeling a little awkward.

Flo put a tire in front of Celestia as Doc and Sylvia drove off.

"No, this needs to be settled by themselves. Everything will turn out alright. I'm sure of it. When she was here all those years ago, your father loved her with all of his engine. And she loved your father in the same way. You better go rest up. Don't worry, I can handle the cafe for the rest of the day."

Celestia nodded and headed to her cone.

* * *

 

Turns out Flo was right. Doc managed to get her mother to stay in town and soon the two fell in love again. By Celestia's seventeenth birthday, the two were married and were living together. Celestia decided to pursue her dreams of a becoming a Piston Cup racer and began to study, reading every single book on Piston Cup racing Doc had in his garage. But even after a year of being in Radiator Springs, she still was not comfortable calling Doc "Dad." That would all change by the time she turned eighteen.


	4. Like Father, Like Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celestia makes it to the big leagues, and old enemies return....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: If we owned anything, this would be in a movie and not here. Unfortunately, Disney is very adamant about keeping the Cars universe from us. :(

Radiator Springs

2005

 

"I said no, Celestia."

"But, Doc! I can do it!"

"No!"

It was another one of those days again. Celestia had been asking Doc repeatedly if she could join the Piston Cup Series. Of course, the Piston Cup Series was a sore subject for Doc as he had been told he was history. It all started when Celestia started watching old racing film reels from when Doc was racing as well as old VHS tapes of the King racing in the late 80's and early 90's. Two years had passed since Celestia entered Radiator Springs and she had grown into a beautiful young woman. Her original bluish-green paint had darkened to almost the exact shade as Doc’s, and her feminine curves had become more pronounced. She no longer used her boosters and had gotten rid of all of her modifications.

Her mother had moved into town and worked with Sally at the Cozy Cone, and had gotten married to Doc. While Celestia was happy for her mother, she still wanted more out of life. Ever since her mother moved back, she had been training herself to race in the Piston Cup Series. Almost as soon as she did, her reflexes and skills had increased dramatically. She was even outracing Sheriff whenever he tried to pull her over for a speeding ticket. While he was still a cop, he had grown to respect Celestia and gave her only warnings. Plus the fact that Doc was her dad helped a little.

Celestia sighed as she entered her father’s garage, while he entered the clinic. She had managed to clean up some of the stuff inside, but it was fairly messy still. Turning on the radio inside, she changed it over to the RSN Radio Show to listen in on Piston Cup news.

“ _..You know, Bob, some of the higher-end sponsors are looking for new cars to race for them.”_

“ _That’s right, Darrell. Lightyear, Dinoco next season, and several others. With the King’s retirement happening after next season, the racing world is changing once more. And speaking of changes, this season’s qualifying races are starting this weekend. If you feel like trying out, head over to Motor Speedway of the South down here in Nashville. This weekend only. Until next time, I’m Bob Cutlass…”_

“ _And I’m Darrell Cartrip, and we’ll see ya’ll tomorrow.”_

Celestia grinned at this news. The qualifying races were this weekend? However, she knew that Doc wouldn’t just let her go off to race. She needed a good strategy. She zoomed into the clinic excitedly.

“Doc! Doc! Can I go to Nashville to see one of my old friends this weekend?”

Doc paused in the middle of cleaning a tool before resuming.

“I didn’t know you had any friends in Nashville. Go ask your mother. If she agrees, you can go. After all...you are eighteen now...although you haven’t had the best responsibility track record...so to speak.”

“I promise I’ll be responsible,” Celestia said as she sped out of the clinic and over to the Cozy Cone.

Sylvia turned at her daughter’s engine. “Hello, Celestia!” 

“Hey, Mom! Can I go to Nashville this weekend? Lindsey is throwing a party and she invited me. You remember Lindsey, right? She was the one from Phoenix who was trying to dance drive while playing the violin.”

Sylvia paused a moment to think. “I remember her, yes. She was an interesting car.”

Celestia grinned, trying not to seem too suspicious. “So...can I go? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her.”

“Well...” Sylvia began.

“Pretty please? I have enough money from working with Flo to get there.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes.

“I suppose. But you call me or your father every hour to check in.”

Celestia grinned.

“Of course I will!”

“ _Except for while I’m racing_ , _”_ she added mentally.

After driving home and packing her racing tires away into her trunk, she headed over to Doc’s clinic.

“I’m heading out, Doc.”

Doc didn’t look over as he was cleaning a tool, but he nodded.

“Alright. Drive safe.”

“I will!” Celestia called back as she headed out of town.

\---

It took two days of driving, but she finally made it to Nashville. It was a large city, with skyscrapers towering above the city center. She managed to stay the night with Lindsey, who had come to Nashville on vacation, before getting ready for the race.

The day shone bright. It was warm, but not uncomfortably so, with a slight breeze curling across the track. As Celestia entered the speedway, she could see a group of cars ahead, the majority of them being sleek muscle cars. She couldn’t help but feel intimidated by them. As she went over to the table to register for the race, a couple of the cars wolf whistled at her. A Dome-0 rolled over, his engine revving loudly. He was painted a bright red. The number 84 shone brightly in firebird yellow on his side.

“Knock it off, you four. That is no way to treat a lady.”

He rolled over to Celestia.

“Sorry about those cars. You okay?”

Celestia couldn’t form any words as she listened to his deep Irish accent.

“Um...umm...”

The car chuckled.

“I have that effect on the ladies. I’m Killian. Killian Wheelen.”

“Celestia...Celestia Trackster. It’s nice to meet you, Killian.”

Before Kilian could reply, the car at the desk called for the next car in line, which was Celestia.

“See you at the race,” she chuckled.

Soon, Celestia was registered and given a temporary number. As she sat patiently for her call to get on the track, a couple of the cars hoping to get a spot in the season rolled passed her.

“Really? That girl is gonna race? Fat chance. I bet she won’t even make the qualifying time.”

Celestia shrunk down on her axles, feeling like she didn’t belong here. Then an announcement came over the PA.

“ _Will Celestia Trackster please enter Pit Row?”_

Celestia gulped and headed over to pit row, allowing the forklifts there to work on her tires and make sure she was fueled up. Thoughts about failing in front of all these cars raced through her head and she squirmed a bit from nerves.

“Hey! Knock it off!” a forklift shouted.

“Sorry!”

As she exited pit row and headed out onto the track, Bob Cutlass, Darrell Cartrip, and an unknown silver blue car watched as Celestia raced onto the track.

“Well, this here is interesting. A Lancia Stratos tryin’ out for the Piston Cup season. I ain’t seen anything like it, have you Bob?” asked Darrell excitedly.

“I have not, Darrell. The Piston Cup hasn’t had a female racer since the days of Louise Nash back during the 1950’s, let alone a Lancia Stratos.”

“Well, let’s see how she does. Maybe she’ll be the next Louise “Barnstormer” Nash!” Darrell replied.

“You never know, Darrell.”

Celestia slowly drove around the track, watching. Her eyes dashed back and forth, taking in everything around her. She took a deep breath as she approached the start line.

The green flag dropped.

Suddenly, like it did with Sally, everything fell into focus. She grinned and shot ahead, amazing everyone as she took the first turn with ease. The only thing she knew was the track ahead of her and the wind over her roof.

\---

Meanwhile, back in Radiator Springs, Doc was taking a break from work. Sylvia was flipping through channels on the TV. There wasn’t much on. Rom-com movies, news, talk show, news, racing, news…

“Wait! Sylvia, go back.”

Sylvia quickly turned back to the coverage of the qualifying races. There was Celestia, shooting past the camera with a determined smile on her face. Doc froze as he watched her and studied her form.

\---

The first lap turned into the second of three. Her grin turned larger as she sped up, using as many of her father’s tricks as she could. As the second lap turned into the final lap, Celestia gunned her engine, giving it every ounce of power she could muster. The powerful sound of her engine, which almost sounded just like her father’s, echoed throughout the stadium.

Darrell was shocked.

“I don’t believe what I’m hearing. She’s gotta be a hybrid of a Charger or a Mustang. There’s no way that she’s a true Stratos!”

“I have to agree with you, Darrell. She’s incredibly powerful!”

“Well, here she comes! Down the stretch! She might break a record!”

Celestia pushed her engine harder and zoomed across the finish line, cheering joyfully! Throughout the stadium, jaws dropped. Not even Killian was immune. After rolling into pit row, a smile still on her face, the silver blue car that watched her entered pit row.

“Howdy. The name’s Bob Lightyear, but everyone calls me “Buzz.” Darlin’ that was some mighty fine racin’. How would you like to race for Lightyear Tires?”

Celestia gasped. Being offered a sponsorship so soon after the qualifier?

“I’d love to! Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Lightyear! I have to call my parents.”

“Well now...hold on. How old are you? I can’t let you race if you’re under 18.”

“Just turned 18 in January,” replied Celestia proudly, showing off her license plate which also had her birthday on it, as all cars did.

“Then...why…”

“My uncle was Will Trackster. My mom will want to hear what I did.”

Celestia quickly drove off to find a phone, dialing her home when she found one.

\---

Back in Radiator Springs, Doc’s phone rang. However, he was a bit too focused on the screen, where Bob and Darrell were still discussing Celestia. Sylvia rolled her eyes and answered it instead.

“Hello?”

“Mom! You’ll never guess what just happened!”

Celestia’s voice quickly snapped Doc out of his trance.

“Celestia!”

“Oh… Hi, Doc…”

“What happened?”

“I got a sponsorship with Lightyear Tires!”

Doc didn’t say anything. He was too shocked.

“I hope you have a good explanation, Celestia,” said Sylvia, slightly angry at being lied to.

“Mom, you always said to follow my dreams. That’s what I’m doing. I’m a race car through and through. I can’t change who I am, Mom. You of all cars should know that.”

“I will admit you didn’t change during your teenage years, but even so, Celestia, racing is dangerous. There’s a lot of experienced cars on the track and some of those cars will do anything to win. I’m...I’m just worried you could get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom. It’s no different then when I went tractor tipping with Mater.”

“You did what?” screeched Sylvia.

“Mom...trust me. I’ll be fine. I have to go. The season starts in three days and I need to get modified for the Piston Cup series and sign contracts, I assume. All stock mods, I promise. I love you, Mom.”

“I...I love you too, sweetheart. Just...Just be careful..”

“I will, mom. I promise.”

Celestia hung up the phone and went back over to Mr. Lightyear.

“So...where do we start?”

\---

After signing dozens of contract papers, Celestia was finally taken to a repainting booth. As she drove in, Mr. Lightyear gently coughed from behind her.

“So you can any number that’s available currently.”

“What about number 51? The Fabulous Hudson Hornet’s number?”

Celestia bit her lip. She mentally groaned.

“ _Why did I bring that up?”_

“Unfortunately, Hudson Hornet’s number is never used. There was a whole scandal or something behind his retirement. No one knows for sure what happened, since he disappeared from the racing world and never told his side of the story. Since he’s so famous, it’s kind of tradition that no one, unless they’ve proven themselves worthy, should wear his number.”

Celestia paused.

“What number is closest to his that isn’t taken?”

“Well, 50 and 52 are taken. 53 is available though.”

“I’ll take it,” Celestia replied.

“Alright. 53 it is.”

Celestia entered the paint booth and closed her eyes. The paint sprayed over her, adding her number and sponsor to the blue paint she already had. She rolled out of the paint booth, feeling amazing and different.

“Well...you look like a million bucks, kid. You ready for the big leagues?”

Celestia grinned.

“Mr Lightyear, I was _born_ ready.”

\---

Four months had passed and Celestia had gathered quite the following while racing. Many little girl cars admired her, including one little yellow one that was always at the races whose name was Cruz. Celestia sighed as she looked around Motor Speedway of the South, where it all began. The bright lights of the stadium reflected on her hood, proudly showing off her dark royal blue paint, her sponsor, and her racing number, the last of which had the font changed to match the style of her father’s number. As her pit crew checked her tires, her crew chief, Dale came over.

“You ready to roll, kid? Last race of the season. I still can’t believe you’re tied up with the King and Hicks. Heck, you win this race? You’d be the first rookie to win the Piston Cup.”

Celestia grinned distractedly, daydreaming a little.

“I know. It’d be _wonderful_ …”

Dale chuckled.

“Well, don’t let it go to your head. I’ll see you in the pits.”

Dale drove away as the King came over. His sky blue paint shone under the lights of the stadium, his massive wing standing tall and proud.

“Hey, kid. You’ve done a good job racin’ this season. You sure got some talent. May the best car win.”

He held out a tire for her.

“Thank you, sir,” Celestia said, taking his tire. “May the best car win. At least we don’t have to worry about Hicks for that.”

“Yeah...he’ll be out for my sponsor next season though. We’re almost the same age, but he acts like a dang rookie almost all the time.”

Celestia chuckled.

“I think that’s something we can agree on. The part about him acting like a rookie, I mean.”

The King chuckled.

“See you out on the track, kid.”

As the King drove into the pits, a voice that Celestia hoped she would never hear again caught her ears.

“Well...well...well. Lookie who we have here. If it isn’t Celestia. My old friend and racing partner. How’s your side treating you?”

Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around.

“Hey, Boost,” she greeted, her voice flat. “Gotten caught yet?”

Boost frowned, but rolled his eyes.

“In your dreams...speaking of dreams...the big leagues, huh?”

“Yup. Got some real training and had a sponsor less than a minute after completing qualifying.”

“Well...that’s real nice...but you know you got your start racing me and my crew. They’re off doing their own thing right now.”

Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, speaking of...where’s Natalie? I thought she’d be hooked on your fender by now.”

Boost growled.

“She left me. Good for nothin’ woman. She got a job doing statistics for the Piston Cup series. She knows where she came from. But, I think you need a reminder.”

Boost slowly moved forward, backing Celestia into a corner.

“No matter what you do, no matter where you go, you will always remember that you are nothing but a dirty, no-skill, no-good street racer. You may have beat me once, but you will never beat anyone else. I mean look at your record. You haven’t hit first place in the Piston Cup, for Peterbilt sakes...you are nothing. Good luck...you’re gonna need it.”

Boost chuckled and backed away, leaving the area.

Celestia gritted her teeth. Oh, he was gonna regret that...but deep down she knew he was right. And that scared her.

As she entered pit row and went to her pit crew, pulling into place for a quick check up, she watched all the other cars with worry. Soon, all the cars left pit row, pulling out onto the track for the lap around. Celestia had the third place spot behind pole position which the King had. Chick was next to her on her left.

“Say Celestia. How you doin’? You don’t look so good. You might wanna call it quits now.”

Chick laughed and went back to focusing on the track. As the pack neared the starting line, the green flag dropped and all the cars accelerated. Except Celestia. Dale called over the radio.

“ _Celestia, what are you doing?! Step on it! Win this race!”_

Celestia snapped out of her daze and gunned her engine, trying to make up for lost time and get her position back. As the lap counter climbed higher and higher, Celestia fought her way through the pack. As the white flag came down for the final lap, Celestia had managed to get her original position back and quickly got behind Chick.

\---

Meanwhile back in Radiator Springs, Doc, Sylvia, and the rest of the townsfolk were watching the race at Flo’s. Doc watched with anticipation. Truthfully, he was worried.

“ _After that rough start, Celestia Trackster has gotten back to her original starting position. Man, what a comeback!”_ Darrell said excitedly.

“ _But Darrell, will it be enough to win the Piston Cup and be the first rookie to win it?”_

Doc was getting antsy with each passing moment. He had never been antsy like this in a long time. Not since he last raced. He watched carefully as Celestia began to make a move on Chick.

\---

Celestia gunned her engine and slid pass Chick, slowly pushing herself past him.

Chick growled.

“No, you don’t.”

He tapped her bumper and Celestia gasped as she began to spin out. Sliding across the infield, she began to lose traction, when suddenly, she realized she had something that neither Chick nor Boost had. Shifting her wheels right, she began to drift, slowly easing herself towards the track.

\---

At the same time, back in Radiator Springs, Doc’s mouth dropped in shock as Celestia pulled back onto the track into second place! His eyes misted up a bit. His daughter...with his signature racing move.

Darrell’s shocked voice came over the TV.

“ _I don’t believe it, Celestia saved it!”_

\---

Celestia pushed her engine harder, almost fender to fender with the King.

“ _Almost...there….”_ she thought.

But she never got there. The King crossed the line just seconds before her. If she had just a little more time and road, she would have won.

Chick growled to her.

“I’ll get you back for that someday.”

Celestia chuckled.

“In your dreams, Hicks. Why don’t you just scoot?”

Chick opened and closed his mouth a couple of times in shock before he sped off, his engine growling. Celestia just laughed before heading over to be interviewed.

\---

After things had died down, Celestia went off to find the King before she left for home.

The King had just wrapped up an interview before spotting Celestia.

“Hey, kid. Nice racin’. Where did you learn that move from? Only car I know who could do that so flawlessly was my inspiration, the Hudson Hornet.”

“Well,” Celestia said, “I watched a lot of his races on old film reels and a friend of mine helped me.”

“Well, you did just as good as him. I’ll see you next season, right?”

“Yup. Might just sneak that Piston Cup from under your tail fin!”

The King chuckled.

“You just might.”

As the King rolled away, Killian drove over. His paint was a bit scuffed up and dirty from the race.

“Nice job, Celestia. You did great today. Listen...I was..uh..wondering...would...you...uh...like to go for a...drive sometime? Just the two of us?”

Celestia smiled.

“I’d love to.”

She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down her cell number.

“Here. You can get a hold of me with this. I better get on home. I’ll see you sometime, right?”

“Y-Y-Yeah!” Kilian stuttered.

Celestia giggled and gave him her number, kissing him softly on his fender.

“See ya.”

She winked as she drove off. Once she was out of sight, Kilian promptly fainted, rolling onto his side.

\---

A few days later, a dark blue semi truck, pulling a matching trailer, entered Radiator Springs. Celestia sighed softly as she sat in her trailer. She specifically asked to get the background changed with a mural painting of the Arizona landscape to remind her of home. Her driver, Dean, called over the radio.

“ _Hey...uh...boss...are we here?”_

Celestia looked out her window, smiling softly as she saw Flo’s café.

“Yeah...this is it.”

Dean backed into Flo’s, parking the trailer off to the side of the pumps closest to the intersection. Once he stopped, he unattached from the trailer to refuel and to chat with the townsfolk.

Celestia gulped and open the door, driving out and meeting Flo at one of the pumps.

“Hey, Flo.”

“Celestia! Welcome back, honey! Hey, everybody! Celestia’s back!”

Everyone immediately crowded around her, asking her how she was and and telling her what had happened while she was away. A cough caught their attention and they parted almost instantly, revealing Doc, and Sylvia, watching her every move.

“Um...hi...Doc…hi Mom…”

Doc made his way over, and pursed his lips, looking Celestia up and down.

“So...anything I can say or do to persuade you from racing in the Piston Cup?”

“...Probably not.”

Doc slowly nodded.

“You sure?”

“Positive,” Celestia replied.

“Well…” Doc said after a brief moment of silence. “I guess I got no choice, but to support you.”

Doc smiled.

“You did good. You did good, sweetheart. I’m...I’m proud of you.”

Celestia all but tackle-hugged Doc.

“Thanks...Dad…”

Doc fell silent, nearly crying.

“You’re welcome...daughter…”

The two hugged once more. After they parted, Doc gave her a stern look.

“But you give them hell next season, you understand me?”

“Already planning on snagging that Piston Cup. Also trying to figure out how to get Chick Hicks out of the picture without getting kicked out myself.”

Doc chuckled.

“I’m pretty sure he’ll be there soon enough.”

The two smiled as they went over to the main group. Celestia couldn’t wait until next season. Little did she know that it was going to be different. A lot different. Because Lightning was about to strike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! Stay tuned for Chapter 5, the beginning of Cars 1.


	5. Lightning Strikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new face joins the Piston Cup...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: If we owned anything, this would be in a movie and not here. Unfortunately, Disney is very adamant about keeping the Cars universe from us. :(

Dinoco Farewell Party

The King's Mansion

Early 2006

The beginning of the racing season was fast approaching. Celestia had renewed her contract with Lightyear Tires, to her happiness and the worry of her parents. Even though they had been a bit worried, they had supported her. Killian had started dating her, though she had been careful to avoid any mention of him to Doc and vice versa.

Celestia rolled into the party with a smile. She’d been looking forward to this ever since she got the invitation. With this being Strip Weather’s last racing season, there was a large party being thrown in celebration. Every racer in that season was invited, along with some of The King’s old friends, and the party was well underway.

Suddenly, there was a loud, unfamiliar rev. Everyone turned to see the newcomer. His paint was a sparkly red. The number 95 shone brightly in yellow paint, contrasting with the lightning bolts that stretched down his sides. On his spoiler the sponsorship Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment was seen clearly.

“Ka-Chow!!!”

The car flashed his lightning bolt sticker, the lights of the room reflecting on the silver surface. Paparazzi swarmed him, but only a few. Once the press cleared, he came up to Celestia.

“Hey! Celestia Trackster, right? The name’s Lightning McQueen.”

Celestia wasn’t impressed, but replied nevertheless.

“Yeah. That’s me.”

Lightning smirked.

“Y’know, you’re a pretty good racer...for a girl. Hope you’ll come to my party when I become the first rookie to win the Piston Cup.”

With that, he drove off to talk to The King. Celestia was just about to follow him and give him a large piece of her mind when Killian came up to calm her down.

Celestia thought he was obnoxious, selfish, and rude. And she was right. As the racing season continued, Lightning began to gain more of a following and he gobbled up all the attention.

* * *

 

Motor Speedway of the South

2006

Celestia sighed as she sat in her trailer. It was the final race of the season and she was pumped. Just like the season prior she was tied up again with the King and Chick. Except a new player was in the game. Lightning McQueen. Well...two. Another female had joined the Piston Cup Series by the name of Misti Motorkrass. Celestia had welcomed her with open tires. But everyone was talking about Lightning, so there wasn’t much coverage on Misti. Lightning was an enigma that Celestia didn’t want to solve. She honestly wanted the season to be over with so she could be as far away from him as possible.

“ _Maybe winning this last race would teach him some humility,”_ Celestia thought to herself. She scoffed. _“Yeah...right. What he really needs is a swift kick in the…”_

A knock on her trailer door interrupted her thoughts.

“Hey, Celestia. You ready?”

Celestia smiled, glancing at a photo on the wall.

“Coming, Dean! This is for you, Uncle Will.”

Celestia revved her engine and opened her trailer door. Paparazzi swarmed her, taking photos. A loud rev caught their attention as Killian pushed through the press.

“Hey, sweetheart. You ready?”

Celestia smiled at her boyfriend.

“Always.”

She gave him a quick kiss on the lips, causing the press’s cameras to start flashing wildly. Celestia and Killian pulled away, blushing heavily.

“See you on the track, Celestia.”

“You too, Killian. I love you!”

“Love you too!”

Killian headed off to pit row, Celestia following soon after. As Celestia entered pit row, she had a quick tire check and soon entered the field with the other cars. She had the fourth spot, which put her directly behind Lightning. Soon, the green flag waved and the pack of cars shot off.

Meanwhile back in Radiator Springs, Doc was watching the race with Sylvia. It had sort of become tradition in the Hudson household and, even though Doc wanted to have nothing to do with the racing world, he still supported his daughter. As they both watched, Bob Cutlass’s voice came over the TV.

“ _Welcome back to the Dinoco 400! I’m Bob Cutlass, here with my good friend, Darrell Cartrip. We’re midway through what might be an historic day in racing!”_

“ _Bob, my oil pressure is through the roof right now! If this gets any more exciting, they’re gonna have to tow me outta the booth!”_

“ _Right you are, Darrell! Four cars are tied for the series point lead, heading into the final race of the season. And the winner of this race, Darrell, will win the season title and...the Piston Cup!”_

The TV suddenly changed scenes, showing promotional images for each of the leaders.

“ _Does the King, Strip Weathers, have one more victory in him before his retirement?”_

“ _He’s been Dinoco’s golden boy for years,”_ replied Darrell. _“Can he win them one last piston cup?”_

“ _Of course, we can’t look over Lightyear Tire’s girl, Celestia Trackster.”_

“ _She’s been an enigma to the racing world ever since she showed up at last season’s open tryouts! She’s won races with skill and grace not seen since the Fabulous Hudson Hornet!”_

“ _Agreed, Darrell. She’s tied in points with the leaders and eyeing up that Piston Cup. And, as always, in the second place spot we find Chick Hicks. He’s been chasing the King’s tailfin his entire career.”_

“ _Chick thought this was his year, Bob,”_ replied Darrell. _“His chance to finally emerge from the King’s shadow, but the last thing he expected was...Lightning McQueen!!!”_

“ _You know, Bob, I don’t think anyone expected this. The rookie sensation came into the season unknown, but everyone knows him now.”_

“ _Will he be the first rookie to win the Piston Cup and land Dinoco?”_

“ _The legend, the underdog, the runner-up, and the rookie. Four cars, one champion!!!”_

Celestia revved her engine, trying to pass Lightning as he pulled up next to Chick, smirking obnoxiously. Chick growled.

“No, you don’t.”

Chick tapped Lightning’s bumper and Lightning spun out onto the infield. He quickly recovered and got back on the track.

Celestia glanced back at Lightning to make sure he was alright, knowing that was the same thing that had happened to her last season, when the sound of a crash caught her attention. Cars began to spin out and collide with each other. Celestia quickly dodged left, then dodged right as she fought her way around the pile up. She quickly made it out as the flagger waved a yellow flag and she pulled off the track and into the pits to get checked up. She glanced up to the TV monitor that stood above the center of the track to see that Lightning wasn’t pitting!

“Dale!” Celestia shouted to her crew chief. “Is McQueen not pitting?”

Dale shook his hood.

“Nope!”

Soon, her pit crew finished changing her tires and fueling her up and she followed the cars back out onto the track. She was right behind the King and Chick was all the way in the back. Soon, the green flag dropped once more and everyone took off with Lightning in the lead. Miles ticked away, the laps increased, and Celestia was pushing herself harder than she ever had before.

Twenty laps or so later, she pulled off the track and into the pits, stopping at her station. Lightning flew in and stopped at his station, which was in front of hers, and she couldn’t help but listen to what he was saying to his pit crew.

“No..no..no. No tires, just gas!”

He took off, flying out of the pits. Celestia was shocked. No tires? That was risky, not to mention dangerous. He could blow a tire and crash. As much as Celestia hated his guts, she didn’t want to see him get hurt. Once her tires got changed, she took off after him.

“McQueen, are you insane or just stupid?” she muttered to herself.

* * *

 

Back at Radiator Springs, Doc was _this_ close to crashing himself into a boulder. This racer had to be the most idiotic car with the biggest ego in the history of racing. You didn’t skip changing tires unless you wanted to get in a major wreck. Or if you had changed your tires previously and could go longer on the pair you had on.

“ _Looks like it's all gas-and-go's for McQueen today.”_

“ _That's right. No tires again.”_

“ _Normally I would say that’s a short-term gain, long-term loss, but it's sure is workin' for him. He obviously knows somethin' we don't know.”_

* * *

 

Soon, the laps had reached the tipping point. The King, Celestia, and Chick had grouped up in front of the pack, waiting to make their move. Lightning already had a huge advantage at this point. He was way out in front, almost to the point of lapping the pack. As he crossed the line once more, the white flag dropped, swinging wildly.

“ _This is it, Darrell. One lap to go and Lightning_ _McQueen has a huge lead!”_

Darrell rolled back and forth on his axles.

“ _Oh, he’s got it in the bag. Call in the dogs and put of the fire! We’re gonna crown us a new champion!”_

The stadium roared with cheering as Lightning entered the final turn, when suddenly….BANG!!!

“ _Oh no! McQueen’s blown a tire!”_

“ _And with only one turn to go! Can he make it?”_

Celestia’s radio crackled.

“ _Celestia! McQueen’s blown a tire! Move it!”_

She grinned and sped up, following The King and Chick. Another BANG echoed through the stadium.

“ _He’s lost another tire! The King, Chick, and Celestia are coming up fast!”_

“ _They’re entering turn three!”_

* * *

 

Doc couldn’t help but grin a little smugly at being proven right.

* * *

 

As the three cars began to round turn four, Lightning started hopping instead of grinding his rear rims. Suddenly, Chick zoomed in front of Celestia, forcing her to hit her brakes and lose her speed. She gunned it, but it was too late. Chick and the King had crossed the line at the same time with Lightning, but it was too close to call. Celestia panted heavily.

“No..I..can’t...I...couldn’t have lost…”

She pulled off the track and into the pits, shocked to the core. Even as her tires were changed, everything around her was in a daze. As she left pit row, a reporter came up to her.

“Miss Trackster! What do you have to say about losing the final race of the season once again?!”

“I have no comment other than this...Chick slammed the door on me. I had to brake.”

She pushed past the reporter and went into her trailer, not even caring when they announced it was a three-way tie. A gentle knock was heard at her door.

“ _Celestia? It’s Killian. Open up...please?”_

Celestia opened the trailer door.

“Yeah?”

“You’ll get them next year, alright? You won races this season! You did better than you did last year. You got a lot of stuff, babe.”

Celestia blushed.

“Thank, Killian. Hey...do you...want to come to Radiator Springs with me?”

Killian nodded.

“Sure...but why?”

“I think it’s time you met my parents.”

Killian gulped.

“Al-Alright. If that’s what you want?”

“It would make me very happy,” Celestia replied.

“Alright. I’ll schedule something with my agent. Now, go home. Get some rest. I’ll call you when I can come and see you.”

Celestia rolled down the ramp and gave him a quick kiss on his fender.

“I love you, Killian.”

“Love you too. Get her home safe, Dean.”

“You got it, Mr. Wheelen!”

“Dean, I told you to call me Killian.”

“Yes, Mr...I mean...yes, Killian.”

Celestia giggled and kissed Killian once last time before rolling back into her trailer and shutting the door.

* * *

 

Two days had past and Celestia was finally recognizing some of the surrounding scenery. As Dean exited the interstate, a white and black police cruiser was waiting. Dean stopped and called Celestia.

“Uh, Celestia. Sheriff is here waiting for you.”

Celestia sighed and opened the trailer door, heading over to where Sheriff was waiting.

“Hey, Sheriff. I’m not in trouble already, am I? I just got back!”

“Not that, Celestia. The road into town has been destroyed by some crazy hot-rodder. Dean won’t be able to drive all the way into town.”

“Hot-rodder? Boy, that must’ve been a long night for you.”

“He nearly made me blow a gasket. Anyways, Dean. Head on home, I’ll take Celestia from here.”

“Okay. See you next season, Celestia!”

“Okay. Bye, Dean!”

Dean tooted his horn goodbye as Sheriff led her down the road into town. After about thirty minutes of driving, Celestia gasped at the sight of the main road’s damage. Her engine flared in anger.

“Who did this?!”

Sheriff shouted.

“Mater! What did I tell you about talkin’ to the accused?!”

Mater was parked by the impound lot and saw Sheriff, immediately looking down.

“To not to…”

“Well quit your yappin’ and tow this delinquent road hazard to Traffic Court.”

As Mater pulled behind the accused, Celestia’s eyes widened. It was Lightning!

“You?! What are you doing here?!”

Lightning jumped.

“I...I...woke up on the road and couldn’t find Mack. Then, that officer was shooting at me and I was scared out of my mind!”

Celestia glared at him and glanced about the town. Celestia wanted justice. And she was determined to get some.

“Hook him up, Mater.”

Mater smiled.

“Okey dokey. Good to see you made it home, Miss Celestia.”

“I am too.”

Mater whispered to Lightning.

“Well, we’ll talk later, Mater. Hah, Later, Mater. That’s funny!”

He dropped his hook and hooked Lightning up, causing him to jump. Celestia stayed back and watched Lightning being towed off to the courthouse, before following slowly behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Stay tuned for chapter 6!


	6. A New Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning settles in and tensions run high...

"The Radiator Springs Traffic Court will come to order!"

A gavel pounded down hard as Mater, Celestia, and one red race car named Lightning McQueen entered the courtroom. Lightning was hopping along due to a parking boot on his front right tire. The townsfolk were yelling at him loudly. Well, loudly was an understatement.

"Hey, you scratched my paint," shouted Ramone. "I ought to take a blowtorch to you, man!"

"You broke-a the road!" Luigi added. "You a very bad car!"

Fillmore and Sarge shouted "facist" and "commie" respectively. Celestia let off a sigh. Those two would never change. As Lightning settled into the "Accused" parking spot, he looked to Sheriff, shrugging like he didn't care.

"Officer, talk to me, babe. How long is this gonna take? I gotta get to California _pronto_."

"Where's your lawyer?" asked Sheriff.

Lightning scoffed. "I dunno. Tahiti, maybe. He's got a timeshare there."

"When a defendant has no lawyer, the court will assign one to him. Hey! Anyone wanna be his lawyer?"

All the townsfolk glanced at Sheriff and immediately backed up, leaving Mater standing front and center.

"Well, shoot. I'll do it, Sheriff!"

Mater pulled alongside Lightning and parked as Sheriff spoke up.

"All rise. The honorable Doc Hudson presiding."

Celestia rolled her eyes once more as Ramone used his hydraulics to raise himself up.

"Show-off..." muttered Luigi.

"May Doc have mercy on your soul," Sheriff growled to Lightning.

With a loud bang, the courtroom doors were thrown open as Doc rolled in, his engine growling. Lightning nearly jumped at the loud sound.

"Alright, I wanna know who's responsible for wreckin' my town, Sheriff. I want his hood on a platter!"

As Doc made his way to the judge's stand, Lightning gulped. Doc made his way onto the lift, and was lifted up, still angry and spouting what he was gonna do to Lightning.

"I'm gonna put him in jail till he rots! No, check that. I'm gonna put him in jail till the jail rots on top of him, and then I'll move him to a new jail, and let that one rot! I'm…"

Doc paused. There was Lightning, giving Doc an awkward smile.

"Throw him out of here, Sheriff. I want him out of my courtroom. I want him out of our town! Case dismissed!"

As Lightning let off a gasp of joy, Celestia groaned.

"No! Son of a...!"

One stern look from Doc shut her up instantly.

Mater smiled.

"Boy, I'm purty good at this lawyerin' stuff."

Suddenly, the courtroom doors slammed open once more as a blue Porsche entered.

"Sorry I'm late, Your Honor!"

Lightning turned and gasped. "Holy Porsche… She's gotta be from my attorney's office!" He quickly shifted into his smooth persona. "Hey, thanks for comin', but we're all set. He's letting me go."

"He's letting you go?!" the Porsche repeated, shocked.

"Yeah, you're job's pretty easy today. All you have to do now is stand there and let me look at ya. Listen, I'm gonna cut to the chase. Me. You. Dinner."

He flashed her the Bolt, making her close her eyes and try to turn away.

"I know, I get that reaction a lot. I create feelings in others that they themselves don't understand," Lightning continued before revving his powerful engine. The Porsche flinched at that.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" Lightning asked, grinning in a creepy way.

Celestia was getting livid. She was _this close_ to going over there and pushing Lightning into a tar pit. Only a brief reply to Lightning's question from Mater kept her from going over there.

Sally sighed.

"Okay...I'm gonna go talk to the judge.

Lightning nodded.

"Do what you gotta do, baby. But listen. Be careful. Folks around here are not firing on all cylinders, if you know what I mean."

Meanwhile, Mater was trying to copy Lightning's Ka-Chow move using his sideview mirrors and sunlight that was shining through the windows of the courthouse with hilarious results.

Sally smiled softly at Mater's antics.

"I'll keep that in mind. Hey there, Mater. Hey, Celestia. Welcome home."

"Howdy, Sally," Mater replied.

Celestia smiled.

"Thanks, Sally."

Sally turned to the townsfolk.

"Hi, folks!"

"Morning, Sally!" They called back.

Lightning looked to Mater, shocked.

"You know her?"

"She's the town attorney...and my fiancee."

Lightning's eyes widen.

"What?"

Mater chuckled.

"Na, just kiddin'. She just likes me for ma body."

Sally rolled up to Doc.

"Doc, you look great this morning. Did you do something different with your sideview mirrors?"

Doc sighed.

"What do you want, Sally?"

"Come on, make this guy fix the road. The town needs this."

"No," Doc replied sternly. "I know his type. Hot shot racecar. That's the last thing this town needs. I thank Chrysler my daughter is nothing like him."

Sally shrugged.

"Ok, I didn't want to have to do this, Doc, but you leave me no choice."

Sally turned around to face the townsfolk.

"Fellow citizens, you're all aware of our town's proud history."

Doc sighed.

"Here she goes again."

"Radiator Springs," continued Sally. "The glorious jewel strung on the necklace of Route 66...the Mother Road! It is our job and our pleasure to take care of the travelers on our stretch of that road."

"Travelers?" questioned Sarge. "What travelers?"

"Ignore him," replied Fillmore.

Sally ignored the banter and continued with her speech.

"But how, I ask you, are we to care for those travelers if there is no road for them to drive on? Luigi, what do you have at your store?"

"Tires," the yellow Fiat replied enthusiastically.

"And if no one can get to you?"

"I won't sell any...tires...I will lose everything!"

Sally turned to Flo.

"Flo, what do you have at your store?"

Flo rolled over.

"I have gas. Lotsa gas."

Ramone and Mater burst into immature laughter at Flo's reply. Sally rolled her eyes.

"Okay boys, stay with me. And, Flo, what'll happen if no one can come to your station to buy gas?"

"I'll go outta business...and I'll have to leave town," Flo said softly.

Sally turned back to the townsfolk.

"And what's gonna happen to all of us if Flo leaves town, and closes her station?"

"Without gas, we're done for!" Even Celestia found herself joining in with the townsfolk's chanting.

"So don't you think the car responsible should fix our road?" Sally asked.

"The only guy strong enough to fix that road is Big Al!" Lizzie chimed in.

"Lizzie, Big Al left like, 15 years ago," replied Ramone.

"Then why are you bringing him up, you lemon?"

Sally shook her hood, nodding to Lightning.

"Oh, he can do it. He's got the horsepower. So what do you want him to do?"

"Fix the road!" chanted the townsfolk.

"Because we are a town worth fixing!" Sally finished.

The townsfolk cheered and honked loudly. Only Doc's loud horn managed to silence them.

"Order in the court! ...Seems like my mind has been changed for me."

The townsfolk cheered as Lightning let off a groan.

"No!"

Celestia cheered.

"Yes!"

"Nice ruling," called Fillmore.

Lightning glared at Sally, who was smirking proudly at him.

"Oh, I am so not taking you to dinner."

Sally chuckled.

"Oh, that's okay, Stickers. You can take Bessie."

Mater tapped Lightning's side with his tire.

"Oh, man, you get to work with Bessie! I'd give my two left lug nuts for somethin' like that."

Lightning was confused.

"Bessie? Who's Bessie?"

Celestia chuckled darkly.

"You're in for a treat."

Lightning gulped.

* * *

Outside was a large steaming, groaning paving machine.

"This here is Bessie. Finest road paving machine ever built," Doc said. "I'm hereby sentencing you to community service. You're gonna fix the road under my and my daughter's supervision."

"What?! This place is _crazy_!" Lightning protested.

"Hey, this might be a bad time right now," Celestia whispered, "but you owe Mater 32,000 dollars in legal fees."

"What?!" Lightning whispered, looking over in time to see Mater nod.

"So we're gonna hook you up to sweet Bessie and you're gonna pull her nice," Doc continued, seemingly not hearing the whispers.

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"You'll start here where the road begins," Doc said, driving over to where he could see all of Main Street. "You finish down there where the road ends."

Lightning hopped after Doc, Celestia, and Mater.

"Holy shoot!" Mater exclaimed.

"Woah, woah, woah! How long is this gonna take?!" Lightning exclaimed.

Doc thought about it for a moment.

"Well, fella does it right, it should take him about five days."

"Five DAYS?!" Lightning exclaimed in horror. "But I should be in California schmoozing Dinoco right now!"

"Aww. What a shame," Celestia said unsympathetically. "Now, if I were you, I'd quit whining and start working!"

"Hook 'em up, Mater," Doc agreed, nodding his hood at his daughter.

Mater smiled.

"Okey dokey."

Mater put his tire onto the boot latch and began to pry it open, grunting with difficulty. As soon as Celestia released what Mater was doing, she nearly freaked.

"Mater that's not…"

But it was too late. The clamp opened and Lightning shot off like a rocket. As he tore away into the distance, you could hear him cry: "Freedom!"

Doc and Celestia looked at Mater, who looked shocked.

"Maybe...I should've hooked him up to Bessie...and then...then took the boot off."

He glanced at Doc. Celestia sighed.

"I got him, Dad."

Celestia took off after Lightning.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lightning whooped with happiness as he sped past a sign saying "Leaving so soon?"

"Goodbye, Radiator Springs! And goodbye, Bessie! California, here I come!"

He sighed as he turned. "Ah, feel that wind! Yes!"

Moments later…

"No. No… Nononono! Out of gas? How can I be out of gas?!"

A chuckle was heard behind the billboard Lightning stopped next to.

"Boy, we ain't as dumb as you think we are."

It was Sheriff! Lightning was shocked, even more so when he saw Sally parked next to him.

"But...but...how...how did you...?"

Sally rolled her eyes.

"We siphoned your gas while you were passed out. Ka-chow."

She flashed her sideview mirror towards the sun and blinded Lightning.

"Ow...ow.. Ow."

Sheriff chuckled and Lightning grumbled. Celestia had seen everything and went back to town to grab Mater.

* * *

Later, Celestia and Mater were watching Lightning pave the new road into place. Mater was talking to Lightning.

"Ya know, I used to be a pretty good whistler. I can't do it now, of course, on accoun' of sometimes I get fluid buildup in ma engine block, but…"

Celestia was chuckling at Lightning's predicament. Yes, it was rude to do so, but she felt that Lightning well and truly deserved his punishment.

Suddenly, Celestia heard a wheezing sound from Bessie, and glanced up. A tar bubble was forming. Celestia sucked in a breath, trying her hardest not to laugh. The tar bubble popped and hot sticky tar landed all over Lightning's lucky sticker!

Lightning groaned in disgust.

"Oh, that's just great!"

Mater came over and looked at Lightning and was about to ask what was wrong before Celestia finally laughed super loudly. She finally stopped after a minute, and took a deep breath.

"I got to get something to drink. Keep an eye on Lightning, okay, Mater?"

Mater nodded and went back to talking to Lightning. As Celestia rolled over to Flo's, Sally cried out.

"Customers! Customers, everyone! Customers! Alright, everybody calm down. It's been a long time, just remember what we rehearsed! Please make sure your 'Open, please come in' signs are out and you all know what to do. All right, nobody panics. Here we go!"

Celestia rolled into position by her dad's office to promote his clinic. While her dad was grateful for the business, he never came out of the office whenever there were customers in town in case he was recognized.

When the couple came by, Celestia smiled. "Got any aches, pains, or strange sounds in your engine? Come by Doctor Hudson's Clinic of Internal Combustion and he'll get you fixed right up!"

The couple smiled at her.

"No thanks, we're just trying to find the interstate!" the lady said.

Celestia sighed sadly.

"Okay…"

As the couple left town towards the north, Sally tried to raise the spirits of the townsfolk with very little to no success. As Celestia passed Lizzie's shop she heard something about the Piston Cup.

" _Still no sign of Lightning McQueen. Meanwhile, Chick Hicks arrived in California today and became the first car to spend practice time on the track."_

Chick then spoke up.

" _It's just nice to get out here before the other competitors. You know, get a head start. Gives me an edge."_

Celestia tuned out the rest of the interview, thinking to herself.

"If Lightning is stuck here..maybe I can take his place and win the Piston Cup, but...what would Dad say?"

She was abruptly build out of her thoughts by Lightning revving his engine, and roaring past her with Bessie. Her mouth dropped.

"He's nuts!"

She ducked around to behind the buildings and sped to the end of the construction zone.

Finally, Lightning came to a stop in front of the shocked townspeople, panting as Bessie groaned and slumped over behind him.

"Ah. I'm done. Look, I'm finished! Just say thank you and I'll be on my way. That's all you gotta say."

Mater cheered with joy in the distance.

"Whoo-hoo! I'm the first one on the new road!"

Mater rolled onto it, and began to drive. His entire frame vibrated due to the bumps in the road. It was an utter mess.

Sally was shocked.

"It looks awful!"

"Well it matches the rest of the town," Lightning smugly replied. Sally gasped.

Red started to sniffle, and then suddenly took off, bawling. Sally called out to him, but it was no use. Red drove around the back of the impound lot and knocked over a stack of tires. Sally turned to Lightning.

"Who do you think you are?!"

"Look," Lightning replied. "Doc said, when I finish, I could go. That was the deal."

"I'm pretty sure that the deal was that you actually fixed the road instead of making it worse," Celestia said, coming around with Doc.

"Now, scrape it off! Start over again," Doc barked.

Lightning rolled his eyes.

"Hey, look, Grandpa. I'm not a bulldozer. I'm a race car."

Celestia's engine boiled with rage. She hit Lightning hard against his side with her tire.

"DON'T YOU EVER CALL MY DAD A GRANDPA AGAIN!"

Lightning raised a windscreen and smirked. "Oh ho! He's not one? Honestly, with how much you and Killian Wheelen have been snogging each other in between races, it's a wonder you're not expecting yet!"

Celestia's dark blue paintwork went to a much lighter tone as she paled in worry. Doc and Sylvia turned to their daughter.

"Celestia…" Doc warned.

"Yes, Daddy?" Celestia asked innocently, batting her eyes.

"What's this about Killian Wheelen?"

"Uh…" Celestia stalled.

Doc shook his hood.

"We'll talk about this later. Right now...Mr. Racecar. You say you are one. Well then let's have a little race. Me and you."

Sally blinked.

"What?"

Lightning laughed.

"Me and you? Is that a joke?"

"If you win, you go and I fix the road. If I win, you do the road my way."

Sheriff was shocked.

"Doc, what're you doin'?"

"I don't mean to be rude here, _Doc_ , but you probably go 0 to 60 in...what, 3.5 years?" Lightning joked.

"Well, then, I reckon you ain't got nothin' to worry about," Doc replied.

Lightning smirked.

"You know what, old timer? That's a wonderful idea. Let's race."


	7. A Talk and a New Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big race and the boyfriend meets the father...

Lightning chuckled as he raced down the track. The final turn was coming up fast.

"Haha. I'm gonna win and then I'm gonna…" He turned his wheels left, but nothing happened. His eyes went wide when he saw the cliff up ahead.

"No...no...no...no! Ah!"

Lightning freezes mid-air.

_"Wait...this isn't right...this is how it ends? What in the name of Chevy happened? I was livin' the high life and now I'm flying off of a cliff, gonna crash to my doom...how did I get here? I guess we better start back at the beginning..."_

A scene opens up in a small room with a tiny red car playing on a rug with a race track printed on it. The car had a blue baby bonnet on his roof and a finish line flag themed binky in his mouth…

_"AGH! NO! NOT THAT FAR BACK!_

_...Where was I? Oh, forget it. Just rewind a few minutes before my doom?"_

The little Lightning seems to speed up as time zooms forward to where we last left off.

Sheriff sighed as he began to explain the rules to Doc and Lightning. He had no idea what Doc was doing, but he trusted the old car.

"Gentlemen, this will be a one-lap race. You will drive to Willy's Butte, go around Willy's Butte, and come back."

Meanwhile, Lightning was pumping himself and getting ready to race. Celestia rolled her eyes.

"Dad is so going to beat him. There's no way he'll let that punk win."

Sheriff continued with the rules.

"There will be no bumpin', no cheatin', no spittin', no bitin', no road rage, no maimin', no oil slickin', no pushin', no shovin', no backstabbin', no road-hoggin', and no lollygaggin'."

"Speed. I am speed!" Lightning muttered, stretching out and bouncing around. "Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beemer!"

Luigi laughed as he rolled over to the two.

"My friend Guido, he dream to give a real race car a pit stop."

Guido bounced over, shaking happily.

"Peet Stop?"

Lightning just chuckled.

"Uh... the race is only one lap, guys. _Uno_ Lappo! Don't need any help. I work _solo mio._ "

Luigi scoffed.

"Fine. Race your way."

He drove off. Guido stayed, still bouncing in excitement. Lightning sighed.

"No pit stoppo. Comprendo?"

Guido nodded.

"Okay!"

He then followed Luigi off to the sidelines. Sheriff rolled back over.

"Gentlemen. Start your engines!"

Doc started his engine as weak as possible. He knew he could start it louder and stronger, but he didn't want to do it in front of all the townsfolk. It sputtered and coughed, backfiring a few times before kicking in.

Lightning just rolled his eyes and started his engine, revving it loudly all the while wearing a smirk. The townsfolk were amazed.

Ramone smiled.

" _iHijole!_ Check that out!"

Fillmore's mouth dropped.

"Whoa!"

Flo smirked.

"Mmmhmm."

Sally just sighed.

"Great idea, Doc. Now the road will never get done."

Celestia rolled her eyes.

"We're all doomed."

Sheriff called Luigi back over to start the race. He giggled.

"On your marks, get set, _Uno_ for the money, _due_ for the show, _tre_ to get ready, and _quattro_ to...I can't believe it… Go!"

Lightning spun his tires, taking off like a bullet and kicking up a cloud of dust. Luigi giggled and turned to watch Lightning take off towards the first turn as the townspeople cheered. Luigi turned to see, as the dust settled, Doc still waiting at the start line.

"Huh? Doc...the flag means go. Remember the fl...? Here we go. Go."

"Uh, Dad? What're you doing?" Celestia asked.

Doc sighed.

"Oh, dear. It would seem I'm off to a poor start," he said sarcastically. "Well...better late than never. Come on, Mater. Might need a little help."

Mater was confused, but nevertheless drove over to Doc.

"Uh…okay."

Doc glanced at him.

"You got your tow cable with you?"

Mater lifted his tow cable to check.

"Yeah, I always got my tow cable. Why?"

Doc chuckled.

"Oh, just in case."

Sure enough….

"Ah! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! No, no, no, no, no, no!" Crunch!

The townsfolk winced and groaned in shock, even Celestia. She remembered falling into the cactus patch once or twice.

Doc looked over the edge, smirking.

"Hey! Was that floating like a Cadillac? Or was that stinging like a Beemer? I'm confused."

Mater giggled.

Doc called out to Lightning one last time.

"You drive like you fix roads! Lousy!"

He turned to Mater before driving off.

"Have fun fishin', Mater."

Mater launched his tow cable into the ravine, and hitched up to Lightning, causing the race car to gasp in surprise. Celestia looked over the edge as well.

"You know, I'm starting to think my dad knew you were gonna crash!"

"Thanks for stating the obvious!" Lighting called back as he was towed up.

* * *

Later that evening, a plow had been attached to Lightning and he was breaking up the section of road that he screwed up. The townsfolk watched him from Flo's station. As they did, Doc called to Celestia.

"Hey, squirt. We still need to have that talk. Go find your mother."

Celestia tensed as she headed back to town. She was in _sooooo_ much trouble…

Sylvia was busying herself around Doc's clinic, not wanting to go to the race. Celestia peeked in the doors.

"...Mom?"

"Yes, Celestia?"

"Uh...Dad wanted me to come find you, so…"

"Right. That talk. Tell him I'm in the clinic."

Celestia winced as she headed out.

After a minute, she caught up to Doc. "Mom's at the clinic."

Doc dipped his hood, nodding.

"Alright. Let's go."

Doc headed back to the clinic, stopping in front of the doors.

"You first. You're not getting away from this talk. I know how your mom said you avoided talks by letting her enter a room first and driving away, but that won't fly with me. You understand?"

"Yes, sir," Celestia said meekly, nodding her hood and driving through.

Doc followed soon after and locked the doors.

"Now...who is this Killian?"

Celestia took a deep breath. "He's a Dome-0. I met him at the qualifying race. A couple of cars were whistling at me and he got them to stop."

Doc raised a tire to stop Celestia.

"How long have you been dating him for?"

"Since a little after the end of the last racing season. He's number 84, so we see each other a fair amount. He asked me to take a drive with him sometime after the end of the last race."

Doc paused, smacking his lips.

"I'd like to meet him. He seems nice, but I would like to figure that out for myself." He gestured to his phone. "Call him."

Celestia tensed up for a moment, unsure if she wanted to know what Doc meant by "figure that out," before slowly rolling over to the phone. She dialed the number she practically knew by heart now and half-hoped Killian didn't pick up.

But, it wasn't the case. Killian picked up.

_"Hey, sweetheart. What's up?"_

Celestia winced again before speaking, giving her voice a cheerful tone.

"Hey, Killian! Um...I was wondering if you were doing anything."

_"I'm actually with my hauler heading your way. I'm coming to visit. Oh, and I got great news! You're still in the season! The race officials changed their ruling! You get to be in the tie-breaker!"_

Celestia gasped.

"Really? Awesome!"

Killian was excited.

_"Yeah, it's awesome. Listen, we'll be in Radiator Springs by noon. We'll celebrate then. I love you!"_

"Love you too. See you at noon!"

Killian ended the call. Doc looked at his daughter.

"Well?"

"He's coming over to see me. He'll be here around noon. Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Could you please _not_ kill him?"

Doc paused.

"No promises. Now go to bed."

Celestia sighed and nodded, turning towards her room. Oh, things were going to be interesting tomorrow…

* * *

The next morning, Celestia woke up to hear cheering and joys of laughter. Blinking blearily, she rolled outside.

There, ending right before Flo's Cafe, was a beautiful strip of fresh, dry asphalt. Celestia screeched to a stop right next to Sally, watching Mater play on the road.

"Hey! Look at this here fancy new road that Lightnin' McQueen done just made!"

"Yes! A-Amazing!" Celestia gasped.

Just then a loud honk was heard coming up the main road. Celestia gasped.

"No...he's early!"

Sure enough, a red and gold semi pulled into town, stopping just before the construction.

"Uh...boss...I can't drive any further."

Killian drove out of the trailer to see the damage.

"It's alright, Peter. Just go on home. I can manage this."

The Peterbilt nodded and backed up, turning around and heading home. Just then, a voice caught Killian's ears.

"So...you're the punk that stole my daughter's heart."

Celestia rolled up to Killian.

"Honey, this is Doc Hudson. My dad. He wants to talk to you."

Killian gulped at seeing Doc's glare. "Hello, Mr. Hudson. I'm Killian Wheelen. Nice to meet you."

Doc paused.

"You're Irish. Tell me, kid. Can you turn on dirt?"

Killian dipped his hood.

Celestia glanced at Doc. "Dad, if you're planning on just tossing him into that cactus patch…"

"If he can turn on dirt, he's good enough for you. Now come on. I need to find where that punk went."

Killian was confused, but followed Doc regardless, Celestia right behind him.

Meanwhile, back at Willy's Butte, Lightning was racing around the track with a determined glare. Sheriff was watching Lightning.

Doc called out to him.

"Sheriff! Is he making another run for it?"

"No, no. He ran outta asphalt in the middle of the night, and asked me if he could come down here. All he's tryin' to do is make that there turn."

Lightning spun out and groaned.

"Oh, great! Just great!"

Doc watched and gave a slight chuckle as Lightning grumbled some more and took off to try again. He turned to Sheriff.

"Sheriff, why don't you get yourself a quart of oil at Flo's? I'll keep an eye on him."

Sheriff was shocked, but replied happily.

"Well, thanks Doc! I've been feeling a quart low."

As Sheriff drove off Killian pulled up to Doc.

"Is that...Lightning?"

Celestia nodded.

"Yep. Appeared a couple of days ago. Wrecked almost the whole town. Dad was ticked off at him. Still is. Lightning's doing community service."

Lightning went tearing down the track, heading towards the turn. As he started to turn, he skidded off, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Lightning had a huge bush on his roof as he started to get back on his wheels.

Celestia laughed at the sight. Meanwhile, Doc had come down to the track.

"This ain't asphalt, son. This is dirt."

Lightning rolled his eyes.

"Oh great. What do you want? You here to gloat?"

Lightning drove around Doc.

Doc paused.

"You don't have three-wheel brakes, so you got pitch it hard, break it loose, and then just drive it with the throttle. Give it too much and you'll be outta the dirt and into the tulips."

Lighting stopped and faced Doc.

"So, you're a Judge, a Doctor, and a Racing Expert."

Doc shrugged.

"I'll put it simple. If you're goin' hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right."

Killian froze. The words rang true with him. Celestia tried getting his attention, but Lightning beat her to it, spinning around and knocking dirt into her dad's grill. She went to his side.

"You okay?"

Doc chuckled.

"It'll take more than dirt to stop me…." A loud crash and crunch was heard. Lightning took Doc's words to heart, but in the wrong way. The red car turned right and went straight off the right side off the track into some cactus at the bottom. A large green one began to topple over falling into the bottom of the canyon where Lightning was and….

"Oooowwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

Celestia couldn't help her uncontrollable laughter. "I'll...I'll go get...get Mater..."

Doc shook his hood.

"The punk can wait for a minute or two. Killian, you wanna prove yourself to me? Hit the track. Do what the punk can't."

Celestia nodded, giving Killian a quiet kiss on the cheek when she was _sure_ Doc wasn't looking before she headed off the track. Killian took a deep breath and went to the starting line, cutting his engine. He closed his eyes, rubbing the dirt beneath his tires. It felt like home. He turned over his engine, his engine revving up loudly. He opened his eyes and gunned it, racing down the track, taking the side wall with ease. As he tore around the bend, he neared the curve. Celestia watched with horror, Doc watched with anticipation. Killian turned his wheels left, and then right, sliding through the turn with ease and coming to a stop on the finish line.

"How did I do?" he asked panting.

Doc paused.

"You got a long way to go to impress me, kid…..but…"

Celestia and Killian looked up at Doc.

"I think you're off to a good start. Go on now. Go get Mater. It's time to put the punk to work."

Celestia grinned and kissed Killian again. "C'mon. Let's go make fun of Lightning."

Killian just gasped, speechless.


End file.
